Phonetics and phonology of sound perception in a changing system

Abstract

Since the establishment of phonology as a separate branch of linguistics, scholars such as N. Trubetzkoy, C. B. Chang, E. de Leeuw, D. LaCharité, and others have demonstrated that phonological principles serve as the fundamental framework for sound perception. In particular, the key concepts of phonological sieve, approximation, language attrition and language drift show steady patterns of phonology driven sound perception. However, not all instances of sound perception adhere strictly to such phonological principles. This article examines a case of sound perception in Ukrainian revealing that, under the circumstances of phonological instability, the basic principle of sound perception may tend to shift from phonologically to phonetically driven sound perception.